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Next to the power supply is room for another 120mm fan. However, since you have so many cables coming from the power supply and you need room to store all these cables somewhere, it’s just impossible to make use of the extra fan mount, so I’m really guessing why Coolermaster added this fan grill at the first place. Speaking of plastic, the CM690 has a bunch of clips at the side of the motherboard that helps you control the wire madness. They are used as cable binders and they keep your wires in place. Great system but a little bit fragile. But it works great nevertheless.

The CM690 has tool-less pci slots and it’s a great way to make screws redundant, however thumbscrews are always better than a system like this. Why? Well the cards I have installed are always loose inside the housing. No matter what you do, the cards keep moving up and down for a good 5mm. I can’t say I really like the system, because it also makes the case less stylish.

I was surprised the CM690 had no screws included in the large white box. But as soon as I looked up, I saw all of them aligned vertically in the side of the drive bays. Both sides are filled with screws that can be used throughout the chassis. Other cases use different threading for the motherboard mounting, but not with the CM690. Just grab a screw or if you don’t use them, put them back in.

We have covered most parts of the case so far, but the things left are the hard drive mounting system and the drive bay. The drives are kept in place by a locking system similar as to the Thermaltake M9D chassis, but instead of having to remove the clips, they simply swivle’s up and down with the Coolermaster CM690. Great system and it keeps the drive firmly in place.

On the bottom right are the five 3,5" bay slots. Each filled with a plastic retainer that goes around the hard drive. You simply click the drive in the holder and slide the tray back into the bay spot. It’s again a very simple, yet effective system to make upgrading a piece of cake. I also couldn’t hear much vibrations coming from the drives, so a big two thumbs up for the system